State Budget: Here's Why It's Difficult

In the midst of a fiscal crisis, Connecticut's Republican legislators have proposed delaying binding arbitration for state employee contracts until June. Under the circumstances, and given the many sacrifices being made in the private sector, this does not seem an unfair thing to ask. Yet today, here come the state employee unions, appalled that they could be treated so shabbily. A statement from CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 says in part: "Connecticut needs real solutions that don't dismantle the public services on which Connecticut's residents rely more than ever." Who is dismantling public services? Why such a disproportionate response? I think the taxpayers of the state deserve a more measured, intelligent argument from those they employ.